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A Reason for Brick, NJ Chiropractor Services: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Many people in New Jersey cities and towns, such as Brick, suffer from symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)—it’s not at all surprising, as most employees who type on a computer for hours every day typically end up with the condition. Thankfully, a reliable chiropractor in Brick, NJ could help you with treatments like soft tissue manipulation. What is carpal tunnel syndrome, and how can it affect your lifestyle?

Tunnel-Syndrome

Definition

Carpal tunnel syndrome happens when the median nerve that passes through a narrow passageway of arched bones in your wrist (the carpal tunnel) becomes compressed. When this happens, the nerve’s ability to provide sensation to the palm side of your thumb, index, middle, and ring (just the inside part) fingers could be impeded.

Risk Factors

While the direct cause of this condition is known, the medical world is still baffled on what exactly causes the median nerve to compress. However, there are certain risk factors that play a role as to who and why people get carpal tunnel syndrome. This includes family history (the condition being hereditary in some cases), wrist injuries, pregnancy, or strenuous work of the hands.

Symptoms

So how do you know when to visit your doctor to have yourself checked for CTS? An article in Mayo Clinic has some recommendations on what to look out for:

  • Tingling or numbness. You may experience tingling and numbness in your fingers or hand, especially your thumb and index, middle or ring fingers, but not your little finger. This sensation often occurs while holding a steering wheel, phone or newspaper or, commonly, waking you from sleeping. The sensation may extend from your wrist up your arm.

Many people “shake out” their hands to try to relieve their symptoms. As the disorder progresses, the numb feeling may become constant.

  • Weakness. You may experience weakness in your hand and a tendency to drop objects. This may be due to the numbness in your hand or weakness of the thumb’s pinching muscles, which are controlled by the median nerve.

Treatments

Many chiropractic practices like Back and Neck Center of Brick, LLC recommend Cold Laser Therapy to treat CTS. This noninvasive therapy uses a low level laser beam applied to the affected area which should help relieve the stress on the median nerves.

Consult with a reputable chiropractor in Brick, NJ for more information on cold laser therapy and how you can find out if you are at risk of CTS.

(Source: Carpal tunnel syndrome, Mayo Clinic)

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